


Tastes like Pudding

by OpalAstrophile



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 03:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14707866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalAstrophile/pseuds/OpalAstrophile
Summary: Harry makes Hermione shriek in front of Ron, and Hermione pushes his face into pudding in front of Ginny. They're both mad, and both want an apology. What happens now?





	Tastes like Pudding

“I think I’m going throw up,” said Hermione, putting a hand to her stomach as she watched Ron and Lavender kissing from the doors of the Great Hall. 

Harry stood next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “We can go back upstairs, if you’d like.”

Hermione took a deep breath, exhaled and said, “No, that’ll make me look weak. We have to go over there.”

Harry shrugged, happy to comply with whatever Hermione wanted. He himself wasn’t in the best of moods, and he glanced over Ginny, who was leaning her head on Dean’s shoulder. He saw her laugh at something Dean said, and Harry had a strong urge to go over there and give Dean a piece of his mind. Of course, if he did that, he was sure that he’d never have a chance with Ginny, so he sighed and followed Hermione to their regular spot at the Gryffindor table. 

Ron and Lavender were so caught up in each other that they didn’t hear Harry and Hermione approach. Hermione cleared her throat, trying to get their attention. 

“Eh-em. _EH-EM_.”

Ron broke away from Lavender and turned to face Hermione. “Hey, what’s up Hermione? Okay…what’s with the face?”

Hermione was frowning, and probably would’ve began throwing insults at Ron if Harry hadn’t whispered in her ear, “He’ll just defend Lavender, save your breath. Eat first.”

Hermione looked at Harry. He nodded, gesturing to the food waiting at the table in front of them. She sighed and mumbled, “All right, all right.”

Hermione mustered up a smile and said, “Nothing, I was just trying to get Harry to get a head start on his homework, but he won’t listen to me.”

Harry stomped on her foot under the table, eliciting a small shriek from Hermione.

Lavender, with worried eyes said, “Hermione, are you sure you’re alright?”

_The nerve this girl had!_ Hermione thought. Hermione knew that Lavender was only pretending to care for Ron’s sake, and that made her angry. Glaring at Harry, she stood up as if she was about to leave, then ‘accidentally’ got her shoe stuck on the leg of the bench and fell against Harry, pushing him into the pudding bowl in front of him. 

The people around them gasped. Lavender was clearly holding back laughter, and Ron was already chuckling. Hermione saw Ginny look their way and point out the scene to Dean. When Harry lifted his head, he saw Ginny and Dean laughing at him. 

Rage filled him. Hermione was already on her way out of the hall, but he got up and made his way toward her, and the image of Ginny laughing at him pushed him forward. 

Hermione knew Harry was not going to be happy with her, but she had embarrassed herself in front of Lavender and Ron, and had needed to get the attention off of herself. 

“Hermione!” Harry called as she continued walking away from him. She was going back to her dormitory to get her book bag, but he was going to stop her before she got there.

Hermione ignored Harry. Right now all she wanted to do was go up to her dormitory and cry and curse the world for embarrassing her.

Harry stopped following Hermione and took an alternate route to the dorms. Hermione, seeing no one behind her, did NOT assume that Harry had given up chasing her, because she knew Harry better than that. They’d been best friends for nearly 6 years, after all. 

She’d guessed right. Hermione found Harry waiting for her in the Gryffindor common room. She walked past him and toward the stairs to her room, but he got up and stopped her. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, blocking the doorway with his body. 

Hermione ignored him and tried to get past him by squishing into the space under his arms, but he caught her waist and pushed her back in front of him.

Hermione sighed. “Harry, can you move? I need my book bag. We have Transfiguration soon.”

Harry shook his head. “No. You humiliated me in front of everyone. In front of _Ginny_. You know how I feel about her. How could you do that to me?”

Hermione felt slightly guilty, until she remembered why she had done it in the first place. “I could ask you the same question,” she said coldly.

Harry felt the ice in her voice. The voice that said ‘back off, you’re overstepping your boundaries’. Harry mostly heard her use it when she was annoyed with someone, like Ron. These days, though, she didn’t use that voice with Ron anymore. Harry knew why. 

Harry also knew that Hermione had never used that voice with him. It was a crushing realization. Whenever, they spoke with one another, her voice was always filled with caring and friendship, or concern and worry. Never had she spoken to him like this before, and now that she had, Harry felt ten times as worse as when he’d lifted his head from the pudding and had seen Ginny laughing at him. He never wanted Hermione to talk to him like that again. 

“Don’t talk to me like that,” he snapped. “Don’t talk to me like I’m your enemy, like I’m annoying you.”

“Well, right now you are. I’m mad at you, Harry Potter, and you can’t do anything about it.”

“I won’t let you get your book bag,” he said. “And I didn’t mean to embarrass you. How was I supposed to know you would scream?”

Hermione groaned. “You stomped on my foot! For no good reason! Now I’m never going to have a chance with Ron, all because of you.”

“So that justifies you throwing my face into pudding?” Harry exclaimed. “It’s still all over my face! You know what I saw when I pulled myself up? Ginny was laughing at me. Ron didn’t laugh at you, did he? No. And yet you still go ahead and do it to me anyway.”

Hermione faltered. Maybe she had overreacted, but she still wanted an apology. “Apologize.”

“You do it first,” Harry said stubbornly. 

“Fine, I apologize, Harry, for pushing you into pudding and humiliating you in front of Ginny,” she said. “Your turn.”

“I’m sorry for stomping on your foot and making you scream in front of Ron,” he said. 

Hermione smiled a little. So they had managed to work things out. Wonderful. Hermione didn’t like arguing with Harry. It pulled on her heartstrings. Why did it affect her like that? Well, she was his best friend, and she didn’t like being at odds at him. As her burst of anger faded away, she suddenly fell to the floor, tears streaming down her face. 

Harry immediately went down to her. “Hermione, what’s wrong? Why are you crying? Was my apology not sincere enough? Here, I’ll do it over again.” When Hermione started crying even harder, Harry began to panic. “Do you want me to get Ron to comfort you? Hermione?”

Hermione had wrapped her arms around Harry’s neck and was sobbing into his chest, soaking his shirt. He put his arms around her and murmured comforting words into her ear, and her crying lessened.

“Shh…it’s okay, Hermione, I’m here…not that I’m all that great or anything…”

Hermione giggled weakly through her stray tears. “You are great, Harry Potter. You are the Chosen One, after all.”

Harry hugged her tighter. “I’m so lucky to have a friend like you, Hermione,” he said softly. 

Hermione began sobbing again. Harry looked terrified. Had he said the wrong thing?

“I’m sorry, Hermione, I don’t know what to say…maybe I should just go and get Ron for you…”

“No!” Hermione cried, scaring Harry again. “Don’t you dare leave me, Harry Potter. Ever.”

“Okay, okay. I won’t. I promise. I’ll stay here for as long as you need,” he said.

Hermione looked up at him. Looking into those reassuring green eyes, Hermione felt something she’d never felt before. It was a strong feeling, rocking her to her core. She felt strengthened, as if she could do anything at that moment.

The two were lost in each other’s eyes. Harry unconsciously began leaning towards her, and his eyes fluttered close. Hermione wanted to do the same, she really did, but she knew they were both just caught up in the moment. She put her hand to his chest to push him away, but she felt his heart beating as fast as hers. Her thoughts began to spiral; she was forgetting why she should push Harry away. He was coming closer…

Her eyes closed, and then their lips touched. It was chaste, but sweet. Hermione pulled away first, stunned. She watched Harry. His eyes were still closed. 

She didn’t dare say anything. She wasn’t sure what to say. Harry was her best friend, nothing more, correct? She liked Ron, didn’t she? If that were true, then why had it felt like so incredible when she had kissed Harry? Oh, god. She had _kissed Harry._

By now, Harry’s eyes had opened. He was smiling, and Hermione thought that she had never seen him look happier in a long while. 

“Harry?” Hermione whispered. She hesitantly met his eyes. They were sparkling, and greener than ever.

Harry raised his hand and brushed strands of Hermione’s hair out of her face. Hermione looked down, blushing. 

“Yes, Hermione?” he said. He let his hand linger on her face. He suddenly realized what he was doing, and dropped his hand immediately. 

“I…what are we doing, Harry?” said Hermione.

Harry laced his fingers with hers and said, “Hermione, you’re my best friend. Our friendship is one of the most important things to me. You’ve always been there for me, ever since we became friends. I need you.”

Hermione nodded. She looked at their hands, and marveled at how perfect they seemed to fit together. She thought about how she had had that little crush on Harry when they’d first gotten to know each other. She thought about how that crush had turned into stronger feelings. She thought about how she had wished that Harry had asked her to the Yule Ball, and how she had felt strange when he gushed about Cho Chang. Hermione had pushed those feelings down, knowing that she was just meant to be his best friend. Even now, when she said she liked Ron, deep down she knew she was just using that as an excuse to try to get rid of her feelings for Harry.

“I need you, too, Harry,” Hermione said. And it was true. She needed his friendship, she needed him to be in her life. 

It was now or never. “Harry, I…I have something that I need to tell you. I…I have feelings for you.”

Harry looked shocked, but happy. 

“And I’m in love with you, Hermione,” he said quietly, and his green eyes twinkled.

Hermione’s eyes widened. “You…you’re _in love_ with me?"

Harry nodded. Hermione was thinking. She knew that she had feelings for Harry, but was she in love with him? She wasn't sure.

“But what about Ginny? You were just telling me how much you liked her…”

Harry shook his head. “I do like her, a little.” Hermione looked down at the ground. Harry put a hand under her chin and lifted her face to look at him. “But I love you.”

“Oh, Harry!” 

And Hermione threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Harry buried his face in her hair, and they were both content.

They stayed there for a while, until Ron and Lavender entered the room. 

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” asked Ron. His arm was around Lavender, who was giggling madly.

Harry and Hermione pulled apart, and Harry watched Hermione’s face carefully. She had told him that she had feelings for him, but she hadn’t said anything about her feelings for Ron…

Hermione grabbed Harry’s hand and held it tight. “Nothing really important. You go and have fun with Lavender, Ron. Harry and I have some things we need to do.”

“Is that right, mate?” Ron asked. 

“Come on, Ron, let’s leave them alone,” said Lavender, pulling him toward his dorm. 

“It’s fine, we’ll leave,” said Hermione, and she led Harry out of the common room.

Once they got out, Harry asked, “What are we doing?”

“Going to Transfiguration, of course, we’re going to be late.”

Harry stopped her. “Transfiguration? Aren’t we going to talk about what happened?”

“Didn’t we already do that?” she asked, starting to pull Harry in the direction of their class.

Harry stopped her by pulling her back. She stumbled forward, but he caught her in his arms. 

“Not fully. We were in the middle of discussing it,” Harry said.

“Harry, we’re going to be late.”

Harry ran a hand through his hair. “I mean what are we now, Hermione? What am I to you, now that things have changed?”

Hermione paused. Did she love Harry like that? She knew that she loved him as a friend for sure, but she hadn't allowed herself to fully develop her feelings for him. Then she imagined her life without Harry, without him always near her, always cracking jokes and making her laugh. She had her answer. 

“Harry, you are my best friend. I love you, and you mean the world to me. Truly. Now, we have something to strengthen our connection. It’s another kind of love to add. Just know, Harry, that I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Harry grinned then and said, “Okay, we can go to Transfiguration now,” before beginning to walk away.

Hermione ran to catch up with him. “Hey! I just said all that and you aren’t going to say anything back?”

Harry shook his head. “I already said what I needed to say.” And he clasped his hand with hers and began running to the classroom. 

They’d arrived right in front of the Transfiguration classroom, when Hermione realized something.

“Wait! I forgot my bookbag!” Hermione exclaimed sadly.

“You can use my books for class today, then,” Harry said.

Hermione looked at him, and suddenly burst out laughing. She couldn’t stop. Poor Harry looked bewildered and confused.

“Hermione, what’s so funny? Why are you laughing like that?” he asked, looking for some sort of answer.

“You…you…still…have…pudding…on…your…face…” Hermione laughed between each word, and tried to catch her breath. 

Harry looked horrified. “What?! Where? Where is it? Hermione, help me!”

Hermione nodded, her laughs slowing to small giggles. 

“Wait. You don’t have a towel in here,” said Hermione after she’d looked through Harry’s bag.

“I don’t? Well, find some other way to get it off,” he said. 

Hermione thought for a moment, before another smile spread across her face. 

“Okay. I have another way. Bend down a little, yes, like that,” she said.

Then she put her face very close to Harry’s. Harry, thinking that she was going to kiss him, closed his eyes and waited. But it didn’t come. Instead, he felt something warm and squishy and wet on his cheek. His eyes flew open, and he saw Hermione licking the pudding off of his face. He immediately pulled away from her. 

“Hermione! What are you doing?!” he asked, rubbing his face with his hands to dry it off. 

“I was getting the pudding off your face. And see? You wiped the rest off with your sleeve. You’re welcome.”

And Hermione moved to go into the classroom. Harry, however, stopped her. 

“Harry! Come, on, let’s just go in already. Your face is fi—"

She was cut off when Harry pulled her close to him. Their faces were inches apart. 

“You have some pudding on your face, too,” he said quietly.

“I do?” she whispered, fearing that if she spoke any louder she’d ruin the moment.

“Yeah. Right…here,” he said, and leaned forward to capture her lips with his.

This kiss, unlike their first, was long and filled with unexpressed love. He tasted like pudding, and she tasted like…pudding. They pulled apart, and Hermione laughed again. 

“You taste like pudding,” she said. 

Harry smiled. “So do you.”

“I’m glad I pushed you into that pudding bowl this morning,” Hermione said, walking into the classroom.

“I’m glad that you did, too,” Harry responded, and they sat down in their regular seats beside each other. That’s how it would always be. Wherever Harry was, Hermione would be by his side. Always.


End file.
